Powerful Strength and Power of Evil:The Cultural Imagery of Red in the World of Tang and Song Elves and Monsters
LI Jie
JIA Wenlong
Abstract：During the Tang and Song dynasties,the colors of the red series were one of the mainstream colors of the society at that time.Because of the color depiction as an important literary technique,red was an important means of portraying the images of elves and monsters in Tang and Song stories.The origin of the cultural symbolism of red was the flame,which was superimposed with the cultural imagery of the red of blood,thus giving rise to two cultural symbols.In the world of Tang and Song elves and monsters,on the one hand,red became a symbol of powerful strengths which were high and powerful position as well as lucky strike;on the other hand,red was also a symbol of evil power including calamity and misfortune.The dualistic cultural symbols made red elves and monsters an important subject in the literature of Tang and Song dynasties.
Keywords：Tang and Song dynastiesredliterature of elves and monstercultural image
Publication Date：2024-01-20
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：4( 79-82 )